Recently I had an idea for one of my corporate leadership programs that has over 6,000 leaders enrolled. In an attempt to make the program communications more personal, I included an insightful reflection one of the participants “Mark” had shared at the bottom of the email message. I didn’t have to wait long for a response, but I was surprised who it came from. Within minutes an email reply appeared from our company president. He had cc’d me in a reply directly to Mark and included Mark’s entire executive chain of command. Our president began by thanking him for his engagement in the program and leadership in his function and ended with a “proud to have you on the team!”

I don’t know anyone busier than our company president, but he still found time to give a personal kudos. I don’t know Mark personally, but I bet he went home walking on air with a story to share with his family over dinner. “That was really fun to be a part of,” I thought. “I want to do this again.”

One of my favorite quotes of all-time comes from the 18th century English writer Samuel Johnson, who observed, “The applause of a single human being is of great consequence.”

Each of us are “single human beings.” We qualify. Your applause is of great consequence, and so is mine.

Celebrating the success of others is definitely a “nice” thing to do, but if we think a little deeper, it has some real benefits for us as well.

Engage Them and Retain Them

According to a recent Gallup report, only one in three American workers reported receiving recognition or praise from their boss within the last week. Not only that, under-recognized employees are twice as likely to actively seek outside employment. It’s no wonder Dale Carnegie was so emphatic about “giving honest, sincere appreciation.” It’s much harder for employees to leave a boss who heaps appreciation their way.

Become More Aware of Others’ Contributions

You’ve heard the old adage that “what you see is what you get.” Need proof? Do you remember your last vehicle purchase? All of a sudden it probably seemed half the other drivers on the road had the same idea as you. You spotted the car everywhere. Of course the number of cars didn’t change, your awareness did. Become a good-finder and you may be surprised how much there is to notice.

Win Hearts… and Minds

How do you determine whether you trust someone? Is it because of logic or because of emotion? So often, we try to convince our followers and colleagues of the rationale for following our ideas when an emotional appeal would do a better job. When you win someone’s heart, they will often give you their mind as well. The opposite is not always the case.

Showing honest and sincere appreciation is a guaranteed way to appeal to the heart. Do this, and it will be much easier to sell your ideas as well.

Change the Culture

Have you ever been part of a “gotcha” culture? Unfortunately some people find fault like there is a reward for it. What if the “gotcha” was for doing something right, instead of wrong?

In Whale Done! Ken Blanchard observes that Sea World trainers have learned the best way to turn an animal into a top performer is through constant and positive, rather than negative, reinforcement. It’s the same with people. Not only that, when enough leaders jump on board, the entire culture can shift.

It’s a Ton of Fun!

When our president’s email reply came through, I’ll admit I didn’t even read it right away. As soon as I realized what it was, I had to find a colleague to share it with. Even though I was an observer, it was the highlight of my day. We all have the ability to make someone else’s day – and by extension, our own. Words and gestures matter. Even if you have a reputation for being gruff, the invitation is open. You’ll be the one who benefits most.

Speaking of celebrating the success of others, I gave it a shot recently when a colleague Ann was promoted to a new facility CEO. Check out her leadership profile here – you’ll be inspired.

Giving great feedback isn’t easy. It’s tricky, it’s not much fun and to top it off, none of us were born knowing how to give great feedback. We have to learn how over time – often the hard way.

If you’ve struggled with giving feedback before, here are some tricks to get you pointed in the right direction quickly.

Identify Your Feedback Bias

When it comes to giving feedback, leaders tend to fall into two categories: they’re usually too quick (e.g. unprepared/knee jerk response) to give feedback or too slow (e.g. allowing too much time to pass, or never get around to it). In both cases, your lack of feedback effectiveness can make the situation worse instead of better. The first step is to identify which end of the spectrum you start from. Are you too proactive or too reactive? When you know your default setting, it’s easier to shift from there.

Avoid Common Feedback Pitfalls

Part of a leader’s job is to give appropriate feedback in appropriate ways to the right people at the right time. But there can be several pitfalls along the way. Here are some of the most common:

• Giving feedback in the heat of the moment when emotions are high – give yourself a cooling off period if you need one!
• Being unprepared when giving important feedback – decide what you want to accomplish before you begin.
• Declining to give necessary feedback due to fear, intimidation or procrastination.
• Not giving enough positive feedback – if you have the reputation for being a Negative Nancy, you’ll always be start feedback conversations at a deficit.

Ace Positive Feedback

Let’s be honest, it’s not impending positive feedback that keeps people up at night. But that said, the quality of your positive feedback will determine the responsiveness to your constructive feedback. Great positive feedback should be:

• Quick – to immediately reinforce the positive action.
• Often – to sustain motivation. (If you ever wonder whether you are giving enough positive feedback, you aren’t!)
• Specific – to make the action easy to replicate in the future.

Make Negative Feedback Constructive

Negative feedback is by far the most tricky type of feedback. Keep in mind that negative feedback shouldn’t be personal – it shouldn’t be about the person but about the behavior or action. To make negative feedback constructive:

• Create a “safe zone” – Let the other person know you’re here to share some input with them, not attack them. Make it easy for them to listen and overcome their initial defensiveness.
• Make it specific – Make it simple for the other person to understand how they can improve next time (and give them positive feedback when they do!).
• Tie it to something the other person wants – Show that by following the feedback, the other person is more likely to achieve something that is important to them.

Keep Growing!

One of my favorite books on feedback is Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone an Sheila Heen. Crucial Accountability by the Vital Smarts authors is another. Both have too many helpful tips to share here. There are many other books, articles and resources as well. Bottom line: giving feedback won’t become easy overnight but more help is available.

As leaders, it’s our responsibility not only to give feedback, but to give great feedback. If you stumble, don’t give up. Keep trying. The better your feedback, the greater your influence.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader. Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or follow him on Twitter.

In many ways the products were comparable, but it wasn’t long before I started caring less about results and more about my own self-preservation.

The main issue wasn’t quality or customer service. It was simplicity. From top to bottom, one was simple, the other was complex.

In today’s marketplace, simplicity is currency.

As you look to increase your leadership effectiveness, make sure simplicity is part of your equation. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Start with Why

Many of us (myself included) are tempted to start with “what” or “how.” This is textbook “inside the box” thinking. Purpose ought to be the first conversation, as Simon Sinek shared in his bestseller Start with Why. (Check out his Ted Talk too). When you take the time to communicate “why we need to do this in the first place,” you set the ground work for aligned direction for the entire course. When you have a great “why” to begin with, you can eliminate the “we’ve always done it this way” complications that get in the way.

Eliminate Choices

This sounds counter-intuitive to a customer centricity mindset. But in their bestseller Decisive, Chip Heath and Dan Heath reference a study showing how grocery store “sample” tables sell more products when they sample less items. (It’s easier to select your favorite of six jams than 24). If you’ve seen the movie The Founders, you’ll remember how the McDonald’s menu was purposefully scaled down to its core items in order to maintain high quality. Instead of being everything to everyone, simplify what you have to offer down to the core few, and then deliver the greatest possible experience.

Automate Processes

When processes aren’t automated, they require additional work – and worse, additional decisions. The more decisions it takes someone to complete an action, the less likely they will be to follow through to the end. Whenever you can eliminate a meeting or reduce three emails (or clicks) to one, you make action much more simple for your audience.

Address Issues Upfront (or Eliminate Them Altogether)

When was the last time you had to make a return on Amazon? Chances are you selected from several options and the issue was resolved. Amazon has been extremely proactive in addressing issues upfront instead of on an individual basis each time they come up. The result is quick and easy service for each user. The more simply your audience can resolve their own issues, the better their experience will be.

Focus on the Few Crucial Results

If your team or function has a scorecard to help measure the key result areas, good for you. The problem occurs when the scorecard gets too large and convoluted to drive decision-making and focus. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t track many metrics. But simplify the ones that have your core focus down to a core few at any given time.

In an increasingly complex environment, simplicity is becoming an art form. All things equal – and perhaps not so equal – your followers will be more likely to select the simple option. Give it to them, and they’ll follow you.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader. Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or follow him on Twitter.

Leaders are responsible for making important decisions that by nature aren’t easy. In fact, in a certain sense the essence of one’s leadership is the sum of the decisions he or she has made over time. Unfortunately, many leaders struggle with the decision-making process. I’ve written before about the need for leaders to have the courage to step up and make the tough calls. I’ve also shared an insightful decision-making process I’ve found.

Fortunately, decision-making skills are a lot like public speaking skills. The more you step up when others shy away, the greater your influence will become.

Below, I’d like to include a variety of factors I consider when making decisions that will have significant organizational impact. These are factors I often use – and encourage those I’m responsible for to use as well.

Decision-maker – Are you the right person to make the decision?

If you are not the right person to make the decision, hand it off to the person who is. If you are the right person, accept the responsibility even if it’s difficult.

Leader Responsibility – What outcome are you directly responsible for as it relates to this decision?

Decisions (and scope) can get complicated very quickly. Always maintain clarity on what you are trying to accomplish. Getting sidetracked can really hurt your influence.

Boss – What is most important to the boss?

Filter your decisions through the lens of your boss’s priorities. If you are in alignment, great. If not, check yourself. One question I’ve begun asking my boss each year is, “Which of my projects is worth the most money at year-end bonus time?” This enables me to make appropriate decisions along the way.

Organizational Values – What would be most consistent with the organization’s core values?

One of the main benefits of well articulated core values is their use in making tough decisions. (That’s why it’s so important for organizational values to be meaningful, visible and practical.) When in doubt, make a decision that is best supported by the organization’s values.

Customer Experience – What would delight the customers the most?

If the customers don’t care about a particular decision, you may be wasting your time.

Long-term Solution – What is most ideal long-term?

Many organizations are artificially focused on the short-term – this month or this quarter. Your decisions today will impact decisions you’ll need to make down the road. The clearer the desired future is, the easier today’s decisions will be.

Facts – What does the data say?

It’s not worth relying solely on your gut if you have the relevant data available to you. Peter Drucker said, “Once the facts are clear, the decisions jump out at you.”

Benefit – What are the benefits?

There will likely be primary and secondary benefits, as well as immediate and lag.

Cost – What are the costs?

Don’t measure cost in only dollars.

Risk – What are the risks?

Be comprehensive in your assessment of risk, especially for decisions with wide impact.

Simplicity – Which solution is the most simple to implement?

All things being equal (or sometimes not quite equal), always be biased in favor of the simple option.

Communication – What will be the easiest to communication?

Communication should be productive and constructive, not defensive. Still, you’re asking for trouble if you make a decision you know in advance will be difficult to communicate or defend.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the long list – don’t be. Decision-making is a mental muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader. Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or follow him on Twitter.

Hope is a strangely human enigma. It can’t be handled but it can be shared. It can’t create anything on its own but it can pave the way for new accomplishments.

Whether you’re celebrating a new beginning (like the start of a new year), caught up in new adventure or struggling to maintain the status quo, hope plays a key role. Not only must leaders be positive (no one wants to follow a pessimist!), they must deal in hope that can be felt and transferred.

Here are several ways to grow and share your hope.

Cast a Fascinating Vision

Plans are critical to any leadership endeavor, but they aren’t inspiring. Plans and goals are actionable. A vision is a picture of what could (and should) be. It can be felt. It has the power to unite. But not all visions are created equal. Even if your goals seem routine, identify the better future they create and share it in a compelling way.

Humanize Your Message

Hope won’t spring eternal for a new sales goal. But it will for a solution to a human need. At the end of the day, every business is a people business. Resist the tendency to get lazy with your message. Find the person on the other end of your goal and make them a focal point for your message.

Blow it Up

Realist goals get approved but don’t inspire hope. Zoom out: how could you make your goal 10% bigger? 100% bigger? It takes discipline to think big – especially when many leaders are overloaded with putting out fires and managing the daily grind. Not every goal should be expanded, and none of them should be arbitrarily. Forcing yourself to think bigger not only ups the ante, it provides the chance to discover a game-changing new alternative.

Identify Your Kryptonite

Hope isn’t restrained by realism. But that shouldn’t prevent you from doing a risk assessment. What could prevent your hopes from coming true? How can you avoid this? How will you continue if it can’t be avoided? If you fail to identify risks, your hopes aren’t any better than whims.

History is filled with leaders who accomplished amazing feats with little more than hope. Even if your situation is much more “everyday” than the heroes in our books and movies, hope must be stewarded. As John Johnson said, “It’s the size of your hope that will determine how far you will go in life.”

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or follow him on Twitter.

I’ve thought about that scenario quite a few times since then. There have been occasions where I was clearly out of my league at work. As a young consultant, I struggled so much with the ambiguity of my role that I was frequently unable to sleep at night. I didn’t know what I didn’t know – and worse, I didn’t know who I could ask for help since I was expected to perform anyway. I didn’t want to be like the woman in the first NGO: a friendly and enthusiastic person who couldn’t be taken seriously as a professional.

Expertise isn’t the only critical factor in getting a job done, but it certainly is one of them. In its absence, ideas can’t “tip,” planning gets skewed and results suffer.

Not all of us are required to be the ultimate expert on any given day, but some of us are. Regardless, any expertise you can acquire will go a long way. Here are six ways to build your expertise – regardless of your field.

Learn from the True Experts

The ideal source of expertise is the people who already possess it. An old proverb states, “Walk with the wise and become wise.” If you are proactive, you may be able to find an opportunity to work or partner with an expert. Otherwise, learn all you can from their thought leadership.

Learn from Best Practice

For virtually every process or function, there are many accessible best practices – for things as simple as leading meetings or as complicated as evaluating learning programs. For critical items, never start from scratch when you have access to existing best practices from people who have already been where you’re trying to go.

Learn from Experience

If you don’t accumulate new experiences, your expertise will grow stale. Try new things – and be careful to evaluate as you go. Soon you’ll be able to articulate your own best practices that can serve as a guide for the future.

Learn from Experimentation

It’s not enough to try new things, we also need to try old things in new ways. Otherwise we operate only from memory instead of curiosity. As author and businessman Bob Buford says, “As long as we breathe, it is never too late in life to discover a better way.”

Enlist Your Team

I’m convinced that teamwork is the greatest untapped competitive advantage of the 21st century. That’s another discussion, but in terms of expertise, be careful to include the thoughts, insights and feedback of others in any important endeavor – regardless if they are superiors, peers or subordinates. Even if everyone lacks true expertise, multiple sources of input can make a solution better than it otherwise would have been.

Pass it On

One of the best ways to hone expertise is to pass it on. In fact, some have made the case that you don’t truly understand something until you can teach it to others. Don’t wait until you’re a full-blown expert to teach someone else – start where you are.

At the end of the day, there’s some good news. You are almost assuredly already to expert to someone else. That means you have a meaningful opportunity to contribute what you know. Just don’t stop there. There are so many more opportunities to learn, grow and share.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

So how can we build positive interactions and relationships with others? Here are nine distinct strategies I’ve picked to focus on.

Smile

The positive effects of smiling are so poignant that Dale Carnegie devoted an entire chapter to it in his classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People. A smile says, “I’m happy to see you.” Since people prefer to do business with their friends, a simple smile can generate positive energy right from the start.

Value Results AND Relationships

Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller detail this point in depth in their bestseller The Secret. Each of us has a natural tendency to focus on one or the other. The most effective leaders recognize their bias and work hard to compensate. If relationships aren’t a value, we’ll be known abrasively (not positively) since we show up only when we need things done.

I’ll admit this has long been a challenge of mine. I value relationships, but during my work day I often operate with an ongoing project plan in my head. One of my strategies is to make it a priority to interact with my colleagues with no agenda other than to find out how they are doing – instead of only when I need something from them.

Manage by Walking Around

Tom Peters coined this concept in his book In Search of Excellence. It’s not enough to have an open door policy. As a leader, you need to regularly take the pulse of the folks around you. Don’t be the last one to know what is on everyone’s radar.

Anticipate Needs

Anticipating the needs of others is one of the most compelling ways to influence when you’re not in charge. Make an effort to see things from their perspective. Then the information and resources you share will be important to them, not just to you.

Suspend Judgment

Have you ever shared an idea only to have someone else acknowledge it and then proclaim, “…but here’s why it won’t work.” It’s off-putting – and it takes tremendous amounts of discipline not to do it ourselves. In these moments, it doesn’t matter if the idea contradicts the strategy. Find another response. Say, “and” instead of “but.” Or simply say thank you and promise to consider it.

Admit Mistakes

I once heard a speaker declare that sharing your mistakes will actually make you seem more credible rather than less because people often relate more to our mistakes than our successes. Sharing our shortcomings makes us seem more human. And people usually already know our weaknesses so there’s not much use in trying to hide them.

Show Up

One day a construction worker at a previous employer suffered a severe accident and ended up in the hospital in critical condition. Even though he was incredibly busy, our operations executive got on a plane and traveled from the corporate office to visit the employee and his family. Upon his return, he renewed his already heartfelt message on the importance of safety to the rest of the company.

It’s often easier and more efficient to let someone else take care of things. Other times, we need to show up in person.

Share the Praise

An old proverb states, “A man is tested by the praise he receives.” One of the quickest ways to gain a negative reputation is to hog the credit that comes your way. Express gratitude, but be quick to share.

Say Thank You

In Leadership is an Art, Max de Pree opened with this simple statement: “A leader’s first responsibility is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” Neglecting to thank others for their contribution is incredibly offensive and can even be a fatal faux pas. To many people, sincere appreciation is more valuable than currency. Don’t withhold what costs absolutely nothing to give.

None of these points come naturally or easily (at least they haven’t for me). That’s why they’re so important to continue to hone. What I’ve found so far is that good working relationships are worth many more times the effort I put in.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

Come to Meetings with Recommendations

When you do this, you save time and effort from everyone involved. Instead of requiring everyone in the meeting to contextualize and determine next steps, your recommendations provide a frame of reference. Your recommendations aren’t mandatory, but they are a head start. Side benefit: if you keep up the initiative, your influence will grow as well.

Anticipate Information Needs

“Who needs the information our team possesses?” It’s an easy question to ask. The hard part is making others’ needs a priority. Unfortunately, many leaders aren’t very aware of the organizational priorities outside the team, which severely limits their influence. When you identify an information need, do everything you can to meet it before being asked.

Ask for Input from Key Stakeholders Before Planning Season

Failing to plan may equate to planning to fail. But failing to consider what your key stakeholders will need from you during planning sessions is almost as bad. Planning isn’t just about your goals. It’s about proactively meeting the needs of the organization as they occur (not afterward).

Play to Your Teammates’ Strengths

We all bring a unique set of strengths to the table. Gallup research shows when we work in our areas of strength, we are six times as likely to be highly engaged. But in order to help your teammates work in their areas of strength, you have to know what those strengths are. Invest in a strengths assessment, such as StrengthsFinder.

Understand Your Teammates’ Goals and Motivations

I’m familiar with my goals. But what about yours? What about the rest of the team’s? It’s a huge mistake to assume everyone is “in it” for the same reason. Take the time to understand what winning looks like for your teammates. Then help them get there.

Share Resources

What tools have you used that others could benefit from? A leadership book library? A project planning template? A list of helpful vendors? Let your team know what you have in your inventory and frequently offer to share with them.

Share Good Ideas

Many people share their good ideas at the water cooler, but few take the initiative to submit them through appropriate processes. If you see something, say something. Not all organizations will be receptive, but for some, your idea may make all the difference in the world.

Share Your Network

You don’t need to be a socialite to be a connector of people. It doesn’t cost anything to build a Rolodex. Don’t let it go stale. From time to time you’ll encounter someone who “needs a guy (or gal)” to help solve a problem. Offer to make the connection.

Share Key Learnings

It’s a shame how much investment goes into individual training for employees compared to the collective knowledge gained. Set the example by sharing what you’re learning from your coursework, conferences, books and on-the-job experiences. Ask for a few minutes to share in team meetings. Host a lunch and learn. Email links to helpful content.

Set Your Teammates Up in Big Meetings

No one wants to look stupid in meetings. That’s one reason why some people are so slow to speak up. Imagine the reaction when you allow a teammate to deliver the big punchline at a crucial meeting. You might shock them. Guess what: you don’t have to imagine it. You can do it if you’re willing to share the glory.

Provide Constructive Feedback

Not all feedback is constructive or helpful. In fact, unsolicited feedback can be risky. Ask permission to give feedback. Recently, I had the chance to provide feedback to several leadership teams before they presented project recommendations to a group of senior executives. My job wasn’t to try to correct them – it was to help them to look good in front of their bosses.

Remember, your words have power. Use them wisely – but use them.

By the way, if you need some, here’s how to get great feedback for yourself.

Give Public Credit

When we’ve achieved success, it can be tempting to hog the credit. Don’t give in! Share the praise. Highlight the contributions of others. Be good at making others look good.

I hope by now you’ve noticed all the incredible ways each of us has to influence not only our teams, but our organization as a whole. I’ve said many times that you don’t need to be especially skilled or qualified to be a leader. Just take the opportunities you already have in front of you. They’ll take you much further than you think.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

Here’s a start.

Seek First to Understand

Two characteristics of Millenials are their optimism in the future and also confidence in their ability to bring it to fruition. This can be a little unnerving for older, more experienced – but also more realistic colleagues. Don’t change your mindset, but take the time to listen and ask questions before proposing sweeping changes in new environments. Proposals that would otherwise work fall apart when the initial assessment is slightly off. When you’re the new person, slow is fast.

Collaborate with Tact

Millenials are the most connected generation, given how advances in technology have all but broken down traditional communication barriers. Social media allows individuals to bypass organizational and hierarchical constraints and connect directly person-to-person. Millenials are comfortable with this, but older generations tend to be more reluctant or “respectful” of hierarchy. Instead of seeking access for personal gain (a taker), find ways to provide valuable input (a giver). Figure out what other groups in the organization do, anticipate what information they need from your group, and take the initiative to make it available for them.

Act Like a Consultant

Managers lament being informed of problems. They want solutions instead. You can do better than that. When you have ideas for improvement, provide several options of ways to solve the problem. Then recommend the option you think is best along with your rationale. Do the hard work of critical thinking instead of putting it all on the decision-maker’s shoulders. Remember, good ideas (including yours) don’t follow the chain of command – they follow the path of least resistance.

Share Your Skills

Millenials have a wealth of skills to offer in the workplace – technology being at the forefront. In fact, some organizations are even setting up reverse mentoring programs to enable (or force) senior leaders to learn about the latest trends. Instead of (or despite) feeling annoyed at older colleagues’ lack of technical agility, go out of your way to explain Twitter, hashtags or crowdsourcing. Your skills give you the opportunity to be an expert right off the bat – provided you’re willing to share them.

Stay Humble & Hungry

It’s natural for older generations to feel intimidated by Millenials in the workplace for all the reasons previously mentioned – and more. Millenials don’t feel obligated to know the all answers since they know how to find them. While previous generations had to earn their stripes, in Millenials’ minds, they’re ready to lead now. They’re not entirely off base.

The Millenial generation will continue to grow as the remaining members join the workforce and the Baby Boomers continue to retire. There will not be enough Gen Xers to take all of the leadership positions the Baby Boomers vacate. This means ready-or-not, Millenials will be expected to lead. It’s not a matter of if – it’s when. The test will be your ability to get results through the people you lead. Be hungry for the opportunity but humble on the way up. It’ll make all the difference once you get there.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.

If you’ve wondered this, I’ve got good news for you. It’s a lot easier than it sounds. And you can get started today. Here’s a game plan for you.

Start Collaborating Now

It’s hard to influence when you don’t have any visibility for one reason: people give more credibility to folks they recognize. But getting noticed can be tricky. No one likes a campaigner with an agenda. Instead, simply go out of your way to get to know the folks you work with – at various levels. Introduce yourself. Ask questions about their function (or use the three questions I always ask). Join lunch groups – or create your own. And volunteer for cross-functional work projects.

Understand the Big Picture

Having tunnel vision is the quickest way to limit your influence. Understand your role and your function’s objectives, but also make a point to understand the broader organizational priorities. Are you in a growth or profitability mode? What does this years’ strategic plan look like? What is most important to the other groups besides yours? It’s hard to influence in the right direction if you don’t understand what that direction is.

Be Proactive

Once you understand where the organization is headed, look for ways to take steps in that direction. Don’t see your job as a set of check boxes just within your role. See it as the responsibility to help the organization move forward. This means preparing for new projects that may come up, anticipating information other groups may need from you (and then providing it!) and looking for areas that could be improved.

Provide Options (and Recommendations!)

You’ve probably heard repeatedly that leaders “don’t find problems, they find solutions.” There’s an even better option than this. When I facilitated a college class on leadership, I repeatedly encouraged my students to “think like a consultant.” What I meant was: instead of sharing an opinion, come up with several viable options of ways to solve the problem at hand. Then take the opportunity to recommend the option you think is best and provide your reasoning. It is much easier for “management” to review your analysis and recommendations than to do all the work from scratch. If you do the work, don’t be surprised when your influence is accepted.

Offer to Do the Heavy Lifting

Once your ideas are accepted, be willing to do the work. When management says, “make it happen” – be ready to go, both for your ideas and others. I recently listened to a company president tell his success story. He said from the outset he accepted the jobs no one else wanted to do – and when he did them successfully, he was quickly given more. Eventually, his title was the highest in the organization.

You don’t need to wait for permission to influence your organization for the better. When you invest yourself in the success of the organization, the people in it and the people it serves, your influence can be an incredible gift, regardless of your level of authority.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.